A new partnership between the City of Johannesburg, Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) and the Lonehill Residents’ Association (LRA) is set to give residents a formal role in helping tackle potholes across Lonehill and surrounding areas.

The partnership was officially launched at Lonehill Park on September 8, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the city’s Partnership Committee and LRA on June 12.

Under the agreement, LRA will assist with pothole repairs in Lonehill, Lonehill East, Beverley and Pineslopes as part of efforts to address road maintenance backlogs.

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However, the city stressed that the initiative is not a licence for residents or community groups to carry out road repairs without approval.

Executive Mayor Dada Morero said the city welcomed structured partnerships that could help improve service delivery, provided they operated within the law.

Morero said, “Repairing potholes remains one of the JRA’s top operational priorities.”

He added that while the city encouraged communities to become involved in improving their neighbourhoods, unauthorised road repairs remained a concern.

“We must also firmly discourage uncoordinated, unauthorised attempts by individuals or groups to fix our roads,” Morero said.

The partnership is governed by specific terms, conditions and Service Level Agreements (SLAs), which set out the operational responsibilities, quality controls and safety requirements for the work.

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City Manager Floyd Brink said cooperation and communication between the participating parties would be critical to the success of the initiative.

Brink said, “With this partnership, we expect communication and cooperation within the parties at all times, respecting the SLAs and focusing on the vision to improve the lives of the communities through visible service delivery.”

JRA CEO Zweli Nyathi said potholes posed more than an inconvenience to motorists, highlighting their potential impact on road safety and household finances.

“Potholes are far more than an inconvenience; they are a direct hazard to human life, a cause of tragic fatalities on our roads, and a heavy financial burden through vehicle damage,” Nyathi said.

The launch included hands-on pothole repairs, demonstrating how the partnership will operate on the ground.

LRA general manager Keith Rampton said the association was positive about the partnership and that its teams were already active across Lonehill through other community initiatives.

Because the association operates on the ground and is involved in activities such as grass cutting and park maintenance, Rampton said it was well placed to identify road defects.

“If somebody has a serious concern about one, then they must let us know, and we can change the schedule around getting it fixed,” Rampton said.

Ward 94 councillor David Foley also welcomed the agreement, saying it could help smaller potholes to be addressed before they deteriorated into larger road defects.

He said JRA had faced challenges with asphalt availability, but the partnership could provide additional capacity at community level.

“This is exactly where private-public partnerships are coming into play,” Foley said.

The city and JRA warned residents that unauthorised pothole repairs or interference with municipal road infrastructure are illegal under the city’s Public Road and Miscellaneous By-laws.

All repairs undertaken through the partnership must comply with JRA-approved standard operating procedures and technical requirements.

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